What is the difference between paging and segmentation?

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What is the difference between paging and segmentation?

Paging and segmentation are two different memory management techniques used in operating systems.

Paging divides the physical memory into fixed-sized blocks called pages and the logical memory into fixed-sized blocks called page frames. The main difference is that paging operates at the page level, where each page is treated as a separate unit. The pages are allocated and managed independently, allowing for efficient memory allocation and utilization. Paging provides a simple and flexible memory management system, but it may suffer from external fragmentation.

Segmentation, on the other hand, divides the logical memory into variable-sized segments, which can represent different parts of a program such as code, data, and stack. Each segment is allocated and managed independently, allowing for dynamic memory allocation and protection. Segmentation provides a more logical and intuitive memory management system, but it may suffer from internal fragmentation.

In summary, the main difference between paging and segmentation lies in the unit of division and allocation. Paging divides memory into fixed-sized pages, while segmentation divides memory into variable-sized segments.